Disks, Swords, And Claws
by Durgas Dragon
Summary: When an important scientist is killed to keep his discovery secret, the X-Men realise they have more on their plates when the disks vanish.
1. Say Bye To The Lab

Disks, Swords, And Claws  
By Durga Kali  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Period. End of Subject. That's all there is. And this was written for a friend...and you can't use her either.  
Summary: When an important scientist is killed to keep his discovery secret, the X-Men realise they have more on their plates when the disks vanish.  
Feedback: I'll love you for a full fifteen seconds if you give me this!!!!  
Rating: PG-13 (For some graphic violence, adult language, and adult situations)  
  
1Today was suppose to cheer her up. Today was suppose to take her mind off of the fact that once again, for some inexplicable reason, yet another college had turned her down. Today was suppose to be a day to see her cousin's great breakthrough, before even the public or the press got whiff of it. Today she was going to got out to dinner with her cousin after his shift was over. Today was the day that he promised her a new sword because it was her birthday.  
So why was she crunched, cramped, and crouched in a tiny air vent, hiding, scared for her life, carrying what she could only guess was the data that THEY wanted, and covered in blood?  
Good question. When she had time--if she got out of here alive--she'd figure out.  
One of the numerous disks that she had hastily hidden on her body was digging painfully into her stomach while a bolt in the ceiling of the air vent pressed into her shoulder blade sorely.   
She dare not more, however. They were down there. If she moved, that'd be it. She didn't want to kill them; she'd never tried to kill someone before. Then again, no one had ever tried to kill her either.  
She justified her decision by the knowledge that she had no idea how many bullets she had in the gun that her cousin had pressed in her hands along with the disks before he had died in her arms. And she knew her skills with the sword would not save her from those nasty guns that the they carried.  
She crouched there for such a long time. How long she didn't know. All she knew was that minutes became millenniums, seconds became centuries. All she knew is that she won't--couldn't--move.  
And then, they left the room. They finally left. Scared that they would come back, she counted to 300 very slowly in her head, missing every other number and going back ten every time she messed up or thought that she messed up.  
Finally, when she felt that her body would never move out of the position she was in, she moved, nearly crying in the agony of cramped stiff muscles. But she got out of the air vent.  
And now she needed to get out of here.  
[][][][][]  
2Wolverine crouched by the door. He had broken from the rest of the team, following the other half of Professor Xavier's instructions. He wasn't worried about the other kids--Beast and Storm would keep the kids in line and anyhow, the kids were getting better. They weren't great, but at least they weren't the soft little prissies that they were when they first came to the Institute.  
He'd been hiding in that corner next to an empty room for a while when he suddenly heard a heavy stumbling thump in the room he thought was empty. He froze. There was soft sounds of someone trying to move quietly, but couldn't seem to. He frowned, his claws sliding out with an almost silent ^snikt^. He slid up to the door, waited a couple of seconds, the threw the door open.  
The small girl spun in something like terror, her brown eyes catching sight of his claws and her eyes widening farther. The gun in her hand came flashing up. "Come another step towards me and I'll fill your guts with lead." She said, her voice only trembling a little.  
Her voice was not of a girl; rather, it was of a young woman. He looked closer at her.  
Her shoulder-length black hair had bright blue streaks running through it like she had high-lighted it. Her body was athletic and petite, but nicely formed. Her light brown skin was pale underneath.  
Dried blood caked her light sheer blue silk over shirt as well as the black tube top she wore beneath it. He guess that it wasn't hers. The way she held the gun told him that she wasn't familiar with it.  
And the fear rolled off of her in waves.  
He straightened, withdrawing his claws as he did so. "What are ya doin' here?" He took a step closer.  
Her grip tightened. "I said don't come any closer!!"  
"What, ya gonna shoot me? Ya've never held a gun in yer life 'fore, an' ya threatin' me wit' it?" He took another step towards her. He was beginning to think that he had found someone who was caught in the crossfire. "I bet ya never threatenin' ta kill nobody 'fore. Hell, I bet ya ain't ever thought of killin' nobody 'fore. I jus' wanna know where ya fit inta all this."  
"I'm warning you!! You come any closer and you won't be alive for me to say I told you so!!" She was starting to sound more sure of herself while at the same time, terrible uncertain.  
He continued forwards. "Lookit, I don't kno--uuuuuhhhhhhhggggggghhhhhhh!!!" He gasped as the bullets hailed in on him.  
[][][][][]  
3The gun clattered from her cold fingers. She didn't mean to. She didn't mean to empty a whole clip into strange man's torso. Oh goddamn it all. She was a murderer now. She'd killed someone.  
Oh damn.  
Was it just her stricken eyes playing a trick on her or did the man move slightly? Cautiously, she kneeled at his side. Maybe it was just her, but she thought wounds were suppose to bleed for longer. She shook her head. She must be losing it all. It was looking like his wounds were starting to scab over.  
*OHMYGOD!!!!!!!!!!* She scrambled backwards from him.  
They WERE scabbing over!! As if they'd been received an hour or a day ago. And this time, he definitely moved.  
"You're not human." She whispered to no one at all. "You're one of those mutants that you always hear about on the news."  
His movement was getting wider. She needed to do something about this. Damn it, where was the rope when you needed it?  
Rope? *Why rope?* She suddenly thought in a bright flash of inspiration. *I've got plenty of duct and gaff tape.*  
It didn't take long to get the tape she carried on her belt off and to make sure that he wouldn't be going anywhere soon. She made special care to make sure that the back of his hands were away from any tape and taped palms down to his body. To make sure that he wouldn't get up or thrash about and bring attention to himself, she taped him to the floor. And--because gaff and duct tape hurt when you ripped it off--she used a bit of sellotape over his mouth.  
Satisfied with her work she carefully left the room.  
It was almost amazingly easy to get out of the building. It took a while, but it was easy.  
She was driving away in her cousin's car (she had stolen it, but it wasn't like he was going to be using it any time soon) when it happened. The building exploded, the force shattering the windows of the car.  
She stared in horror at the burning mass. The man she had taped up....  
He had no chance. No in that blast.  
She really WAS a murder now. 


	2. She Enters

4It had been a long time since the building. She wanted to just give up and go home, but they knew about home. They were there, searching, and she just managed to slip away. They would watch home, waiting for her to come back.  
So she didn't. She sat on a train, in clothes she had bought. She didn't use anything but cash to pay for anything now. Cash was hard to trace. As far as she was concerned, the only thing that they would have to go after was the huge amount that she had taken from her ATM account.  
She was following her cousin's last orders. She only had a small business card to follow, but at least she thought she could be safe. She hope she could be safe.  
She doubted it.  
The train finally pulled to a stop. She grabbed the small backpack and slid out with the crowd. Hailing a cab took a bit longer, but she finally got one. She prayed that it was safe. She sat back, prepared to jump out at a moments notice.  
She had never been to New York before, and tried not to crane her neck out the window too obviously. She knew the builds would be tall, but she didn't think that they'd be THAT tall. They dwarfed the cars and trucks that crowded the street. It was louder and dirtier than she thought it'd be.  
It was a long time until the cab finally pulled out of the city and brought her to a bus stop on the outskirts of the city. The bus ride through the grey day wasn't as long as she thought it'd be. Oh well. Gave her more time to walk there.  
She followed the road, avoiding all cars and motorcycles. About when she judged herself to be about half-way there, it began to rain. Drizzle first, then fat drops that got faster and faster.  
She lifted her face to the rain. She loved rain. It soaked her body and plastered the coat to her frame. It felt refreshing and good, cleansing her and energising her.  
A large wrought iron gate swarmed in front of her. She looked over to the sides. There was a circuit board and other buttons there on the left side of the gate.  
Delicately, she pressed a red button under what looked like a speaker.  
And she waited. A cold wind was beginning to cut through her coat and she shivered.  
Finally, a voice responded. "Hi. Can I help you?" It sounded young.  
"Is Professor Charles Xavier in?" She braved a few seconds later.  
"Yeah, why?" The tinny voice asked.  
"I need to talk to Professor Xavier."  
"About what?" The voice was growing more suspicious.  
"Please. I need to talk to Professor Xavier. Immediately."  
There was a faint scuffling noise on the other side, then "Wait there."  
So she waited again. What seemed like a long time later, a red convertible with two white stripes in the middle and the top up pulled up to the gate as it open. The door was opened and a red haired boy with strange red shade leaned over. "Hop in. It's too wet out to walk back."  
She paused for a minute, than carefully walked over and got in to the car.  
[][][][][]  
5Professor Xavier watched as the young woman curled up in the armchair next to the fireplace. She was still wet, but not in a dishevelled way.  
"I am Professor Xavier." He asked a couple of seconds later. "And who might you be?"  
She looked at him sideways from under her wet eyelashes. "Did you hear about the research facility in Miami? The one that exploded?"  
There was no mistaking the sharp flash that was quickly suppressed in his eyes. It didn't make her more comfortable. She decided to hold off on telling him about the disks.  
"I escaped before it went off."  
He started, just shy of violently. "You were there....did you work there?" He asked, his eagerness hidden under a bland interested tone.  
She shook her head as the door opened. A man entered. He wasn't bad looking, she decided. "Chuck, I gotta--YOU!!"  
She blinked. The man was staring at her. His voice was very vaguely familiar, but she knew she had never seen him before.  
Logan could see the polite puzzlement on the girl's face and the raised eyebrow of the professor. The girl didn't remember him. Or to state things better, she didn't know him when he was in his civvies. Maybe he should enlighten her....  
Logan let his claws slid out of his arms. Professor Xavier started, surprised by his actions, but even more surprised by the woman's.  
Her eyes shot wide open, and she flung her chair backwards, her legs flailing. "OHMYGOD!!!!" She gasped as rolled as she landed, her soft brown eyes mirroring something close to terror. She stumbled backwards, a sword held in her hand with practiced ease despite her panic. "You're alive." She finally managed to get out.  
"So are ya." He pointed out. "What are ya doin' here?"  
"I might ask you the same thing." She squeezed out. "You got out okay?"  
"I musta, 'cos I here, ain't I?"  
"You two know each other?" Professor Xavier looked over them both.  
"Ya could say that." Logan said, drawing his claws back into his arm. "Let's jus' say we've had...some sticky situations together."  
"I'm sorry!!" She said, sliding the sword back into her sheath. "I didn't know!!"  
"O'course." He said noncommittally.  
Her liquid brown eyes narrowed. "Would you like it I do it again?" Her hands fell to the bulges on her belt.  
Logan fought back a grin. The girl had spice...he liked that. "I'd like ta see ya try, since ya ain't got th'gun no more."  
"That can be fixed." She threatened. Ahhhhh, her claws were out. He wonder if she bit briefly.  
Professor Xavier frowned, then his brow cleared. "Is this the girl you referred to from the lab?"  
"May I present Ms Tape-Happy herself." Logan swept his arm out in the girl's direction.  
Professor Xavier smiled slightly. "How on earth did you manage to get him to stay still long enough to do that to him?"  
She shrugged as she set her chair upright and refolded herself into it. "I emptied a clip into his stomach, panicked, then realised he was healing. That scared the crap--excuse my language--out of me. I didn't know he was working with you." She said, her voice gaining an apologetic note. "If I had known, I wouldn't have done that. But since I didn't...." She shrugged again. "I didn't want him following me."  
"That one way ta do it." Logan muttered, leaning on the arm of the couch and observing the young woman.  
She glanced at him, almost shyly. "How did you get out of there? I didn't know they were going to blow the place up...." She faded out.  
"Some friends found me 'fore th'place blew."  
"You can't even begin to know how glad I am to hear that." He could almost drink the strong current of sincerity that was running in her slightly-accented voice.  
The professor cleared his throat. Both of them looked over at him. "I would like to ask what you were doing at the lab in the first place, miss...." He left the sentence hang, waiting for her to fill the blank.  
"Myrna." She said after a brief pause. "It's Myrna Kuroi."  
"Well, Miss Kuroi, what were you doing at the facility in the first place?"  
She looked at him in dismay. "You want me to tell you about the whole day?" In that brief phrase, she age at least twenty years and Logan suddenly saw how tired she really was. For the first time, he realised what an ordeal it must have been for her.  
Professor Xavier must of noticed also because he said "Maybe you would like to sleep on it first, Miss Kuroi. It's been a long week for you, hasn't it?" She nodded mutely. "Logan, will you take our guest to the spare room?"  
Logan stood up. "C'mon. It this way." 


	3. Ouch.

6Myrna had another one of those headaches again. Gods, they were getting so frequent!! They NEVER happened use to happen this often, or this close together, ever!!! And they seemed to get more painful every time she had one.  
She couldn't even enjoy the time or the room that the professor was letting her use, much less get the sleep that the professor recommended she get. Her head felt like someone had sat down inside it and decided to use a dull chisel with a sledgehammer on her skull.  
And those @$#&% meds weren't working, either. They just don't make Advil and Ibuprofen like they use to. When she had been a teen, the meds had stopped the pain. Now....the only think that she could think of that'd make her headache leave was unconsciousness.  
She tried everything, a dark room, a wet washcloth over her eyes, a wet rag on the back of her neck, a banana that she took from the generous fruit bowl and cut in half, one to go on her forehead and one to go on her neck. It didn't work. Nothing worked.  
The idea of weathering out this one seemed impossible; it simply hurt too much. But she didn't know any other way to deal with it.  
"Oh, come ON!!! She's like sleeping!!! She'll never kno--ummmm, whoops?" The brown-haired girl that had just walked THROUGH her door was stage whispering to someone behind her.  
"OhmyGOD!!!" Myrna yelped, stumbling backwards, dropping the washcloth she was holding.  
"I'm sorry--Look out!!!" The girl cried out as Myrna's foot caught on the edge of the bed and her backpack strap, pitching her backward.  
Myrna's last memory was the sickening sound of the back of her head making contact with edge of the bedside table.  
Then she slid in to welcoming blackness.  
[][][][][]  
7"You have a quiet a concussion." The furry blue thing that was dancing in front of her said. Her eyes couldn't seem to focus, but she figured that was okay, since her headache wasn't NEARLY as bad as it had been.  
"You blu." She observed fuzzily. "Mus'be seein' thin's 'cos people ain' blu." She shook her head as she sat up, swaying madly.  
"No darlin', ya ain't seein' thin's." A voice said gruffly and gently from near and up. A pair of rough-skinned hands cupped her elbows lightly to help stabilise her. "Hank IS blue."  
She blinked again stupidly. It took a moment before the implication of the word hit her. "He blue....? But...." She frowned and shut her eyes as she forced her brain in to some semblance of working order. "Mutant?" She finally managed to find the word.  
  
There was a pause, then the blue one spoke again. "I believe you are the only one of the species homo sapien in this establishment."  
"Oh. 'Kay." She said and tried to lay back down. All that thinking was making her head hurt more, and she didn't intend to get a another brain-crushing headache.  
The back of her shoulders bounced slightly against something hard. She frowned. She had been laying down just a minute ago, she could remember that much.  
And then she was again, though she had a sneaking flittering suspicion that she didn't do it herself. Ah well, she could figure it all out once she was feeling coherent again. She shut her eyes again, this time preparing to slide into sleep.  
Then it sunk in.  
"I'm the only WHAT?!?!?" She shrieked, snapping back up.  
[][][][][]  
8"I think she took it rather well, considering." Hank said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "It took her a bit longer than what was her normal reaction time, I'm sure, but she did understand in the end, though I think it was a bit of a shock for her."  
"Is she...?" Ororo let it hang in the air.  
"Prejudice?" Hank shook his head. "I don't think so."  
"Well, thank the Goddess for that, at least." Ororo glanced over at Logan. "What do you think of her?"  
Logan grunted noncommittally.  
She raised her eyebrow at him. "Well?"  
He shrugged. "Might be interestin' ta have her 'bout." He said as got up and left.  
Ororo watched him leave with a surprised expression. "What was that all about?"  
Hank looked up from stirring in his cream and sugar. "That? I have a thesis, but that's it. I think Miss Kuroi intrigues him."  
It took a second for the implication of his words to sink in. "You think his interested in her?" She gasped. "As in romantically?"  
He grinned mischievously. "As I said, it's only a hypotheses."  
"Logan's right. This COULD be interesting." She smirked. 


	4. When All Else Fails....

9Myrna woke the next morning with a small headache in the back of her head, but it could be worse. At least she was safe here....for the most part.  
It was weird to know she was the only plain human in the place. Everyone else was a mutant and could do something--most likely cool things. And here she was. A boring old human. The only thing she could claim to fame was her ability with her sword, and even now she was being to doubt her skill. It didn't comfort her much to know that she had little defence against these people should they choose to decide that the others would be better off without her.  
She was hungry, so she decided to try and find some breakfast. She'd just follow her nose. It couldn't be that hard, right?  
It took exactly two minutes and twenty-six seconds for her to get hopelessly lost. And there was no one about to ask for directions.  
Myrna looked around her and shook her head. It took a real lunkhead--such as herself--to not get lost while on the road ever, but leave her alone for five minutes in a building....she sighed. Maybe next time she should ask for directions before she got big ideas about finding her own way.  
She turned another corner and stepped back quickly. "I'm sorry. Excuse me." She said to the boy she had nearly walked into.  
He flashed her a quick grin. "No prob."  
"Um...I was just wondering....Well...."  
"You're lost, right? Where you trying to get to?"  
"Breakfast."  
"Hey, that's where I'm headed. Why don't I show you the way?"  
"Thanks." She said gratefully.  
"By the way," he said as he started down the hall. "My name is Scott. You're Miss Kuroi, am I right?"  
"Yes."  
"I'm really sorry about what Kitty did to you. She shouldn't have been just phasing around like that. She know better than that. How's your head, by the way?"  
"It feels much better, thanks. I'm still a bit fuzzy around the edges, but its nothing that I can't live with." She paused a minute. "Who's Kitty?"  
"Kitty? She's the one that phased into your room like that. Like I said, she knows better."  
"Oh."  
Scott was silent for a moment, then "I have to know. Did you really tape Mr Logan up like that?"  
Myrna glanced at him. "Yeah."  
"REALLY?!? That is so cool!!"  
"Why?"  
"The guy's practically unbeatable. And he's a bit of a hard task-master. It just kind of funny to think that some one got the better of him."  
"....oh."  
"Um...hey, we're going to go out for a movie and pizza tonight. Wanna join us?"  
"Thanks, but...no thanks. I think I'm just going to hand around here." Myrna could feel the pressure begin to build up behind her eyes. "Umm...I'm not feeling to good...I think I'm going to skip breakfast...how can I get back to the room I was staying it?"  
She barely remembered his directions. She just knew that light was starting to burn her eyes and her head was beginning to THROB. She finally crumpled against the wall, unable to go further, the pain was simply to much.  
She didn't know how long she sat there, curled up, when a hand lightly touched her shoulder. "Ya 'kay ther'?"  
She winched at the noise. She managed to force her head up and her eyes open.  
Logan was kneeling next to her, watching her. "Is it yer head?"  
"It's...not the...same." Myrna managed to gasp out. "I've...I've had these....since...I was...young." The effort to just speak brought tears to her eyes from the immense pain.  
"Shhhhh....Let's get ya back ta yer room now, eh?"  
The next thing Myrna knew, she was being carried gently. Then she was carefully set down on a bed. "D'ya want any meds or somethin'?"  
"Don't....don't work." She gripped her forehead lightly. Oh gods, her head hurt so bad!!  
A cold wet cloth was suddenly placed over her eyes. "Ther' anythin' I can do? Get Hank? Give ya a head massage? Get ya a coke or a banana?"  
She looked at him. He shrugged. "Jeannie gets headache pretty regular from her powers." Myrna blinked. *Jeannie...?* "She one o'th'telepaths-telekensis here." He clarified for her sake.  
"...oh."  
"Chuck says it hasta do wit' her not usin' her powers so they get all backed up an' crap an' she gets a killer headache. Here." A cold fizzing cup was kindly shoved into her hands. "This th'stuff that we give Jeannie when she gets it bad. It might help ya."  
It tasted horrible. But since it hurt to much to make a face, she simply fell back on to the bed and lay there, her head still throbbing.  
"It that bad, huh?"  
""Wha'?"  
"Jeannie says it taste bad. Ya jus' chugged it down like it was a Bud or somethin'. Yer head really that bad?"  
"I...guess." She shut her eyes against the little bit of light that was glaring in her eyes. Coherent thoughts were painful. Best to just stay with no thoughts at all.  
She looked so small and fragile laying there, not at all like the fiery little bundle of spirit and spunk Logan knew she was. It just wasn't right, her being down like that.  
"Wha'...?" Myrna murmured as she felt her shoulders being gently lifted up. Then there was set of fingers carefully rubbing her whole head, starting at her temple and stretching all the way to the base of her neck. At the same time it was painful, it felt good. One of those 'good' pain things.  
"Does that help?" A voice asked very softly next to her ear.  
Myrna let her eyes drop shut. "Better." She mumbled. His fingers were warm and tender despite the calloused skin that covered them. For the first time ever, she could feel the pain abating in her head. "What was that stuff?" She mumbled almost inarticulately.  
"Dunno. Jus' somethin' that Hank mixed up one day. It workin'?"  
"Mmhhmm."  
"Ya might wanna take a nap now...I think th'girls have their head set on some shopping thin' 'fore th'movie tonight an' I think ya gonna get press-ganged inta goin'."  
"Mm'kay."  
She felt a quilt pulled over her gently. "Get some rest, 'kay? Ya gonna need it."  
[][][][][]  
10"Oh my GOD!!! You guys like have to see this!!"  
"E'ery uddah thin' we hafta see."  
"Don't be a spoilsport. That is just darling!"  
"Isn't it?!?"  
"Don't you have one just like that back at the mansion?"  
"No, this one is like, baby pink. That one is soft pink."  
"There's a difference?"  
"Ye mean ye canna tell th'difference? I though' it wos clear."  
"Shut up."  
"Okay girls, check THIS out!!"  
"Where on god's green earth did you find that?!"  
"That's my little secret!!"  
"ACK!! I hate you too!!"  
Myrna watched the whole high school teen shopping drama from the sidelines. She was so glad she was out of that stage. You couldn't pay her enough to go back there. The teen years just seemed to be made up of little things like this.  
"Come on girls, let's hit the dressing room!!" The redhead Jean said. She annoyed Myrna. She had this sort of holier-than-thou-god's-gift-to-man attitude despite her attempted niceness. Myrna liked The skunk-striped girl was gruff, but Myrna liked her much better than the others. She was a bit into the goth and teen angst stuff, but she had a golden heart. Kitty was just ditzy and she really hadn't formed too much of an opinion on the others yet.  
"Don't you have anything?" Kitty bounced next to her.  
"No, not this time. They only have so much in this section that fits me before I have to start going to the children's department."  
"Okay."  
"Man, it really has got to suck bein' tha' small, don't it?" Rogue as Kitty boinged off.  
"You have NO idea. I once was mistaken for a twelve-year-old when I was seventeen."  
"Mah LAWRD!! REALLY?!?"  
"I swear."  
"Tha's terrible!!" Rogue snickered. "Waal, at least now yah look like yah're fourteen."  
"Oh, now THAT did wonders for my self-esteem!!"  
Rogue laughed some more. "Yahr welcome." She sniggered as she ducked into the dressing room.  
"Yeah, go on and laugh." Myrna muttered darkly as she stepped off to the side, away from a shrill teeny-bopper that she'd like to strangle. She hated, hated, HATED teeny-boppers!!! All of them should be locked in their rooms until their horm--  
Something slapped itself over her month and nose, something that made her sick with its sweet stench.  
She brought her elbow back sharply as she tried to peel the cloth from her face while she stomped on one of the assailant's feet. She made contact both times, but nothing happened other then her slipping grip on reality. She brought her elbow back again, this time aiming lower-- 


	5. How Does She Do That?

11Logan just barely got his cycle off the road when the Professor's thoughts blared into his head. *~WHAT?!~* He roared once he wasn't in danger of crashing any more. *~WHAT did you jus' say!?~*  
*~Miss Kuroi has been kidnapped. My guess is by the same people that blew up that lab. Go to the mall. Track her from there. Wolverine? Did you hear me? Wolverine!!!~*  
Logan ignored him. He was already racing down the street towards the mall. He'd be damned if anything happened to Myrna. It wasn't her fault that she was in the wrong place at t he wrong time. And had the guts to get out of there in one piece. If they hurt her in anyway...the back of his hand itched with anticipation.  
He was halfway there when Professor X suddenly said *~Wolverine!! Head to the Warehouse District and get to Warehouse #13 IMMEDIATELY!!!!~*  
He didn't question it, though he wanted to. It was very possible that Chuck had already found Myrna...he hoped so. He floored his accelerator.  
Warehouse #13 was in shambles. It was a complete wreak. Broken beams and cement with bits of metal sticking out of it were scattered everywhere.  
Wolverine barely shut his motorbike off before he was scrambling over the debris and rubble. He could smell the stink of Myrna's fear and anger everywhere. It coated everything like oil on the road.  
He stopped dead and stared. The one upright wall in the whole place had a row of people all attached to it...taped to it, actually. Taped there very firmly. A good two meters off of the ground.  
And Myrna was in a heap about three meters away from that.  
He hurried over to her. "Myrna?" He asked as he gently turned her over.  
Brown eyes that were caked with dust cracked open. "Did I win?" She asked fuzzily as she looked at him.  
"Well, I guess ya could say that." He resisted the urged to brake out into relieved laughter. "Are ya 'kay?"  
She blinked a few times, then started to work on standing up. "I think so...my headache's gone. I'm in one piece...but..." She glanced at the clutter around her. "This place is a mess."  
"Better it than ya."  
"I suppose." She swayed a bit on her feet, but other than that, she could stand just fine. "I feel really light-headed...like I...I don't know..."  
*~Chuck, I got her, she safe. I'm gonna get her outta here 'fore the cops come.~* Logan sent out the message. "Hey, ya think ya can hold on tight?"  
Myrna gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"  
"'Cos we gotta get the heck outta here 'fore the cops show...it might uncomfortable ta an' 'plain this all, eh?"  
She grinned weakly as she followed him out. "I see."  
"Here." He handed her his helmet. "Wear this."  
He waited until he felt her arms curled around him tightly before he asked "Ready?"  
"Yup."  
"Let's go!"  
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12Professor Xavier was waiting for them when Logan pulled up. "Would you care to explain what happened back there?"  
Myrna looked about awkwardly. "Umm...well...to be honest....I haven't the slightest idea. I mean, one second they were demanding, and the next thing I know..." She shrugged uneasily. "It's over and I've blacked out."  
"Myrna, have you been having headaches for a long time?"  
She blinked. What did THAT have to do with anything? "Since I was a kid. But I don't see--"  
"Did they start about the time puberty did for you?"  
Myrna opened her mouth, then shut it. Now that she thought about it.... "I think so..."  
The professor nodded, as if she had said something of great importance. "Are you terribly attached to Miami?"  
"My family's down there....are you trying to make a point or something?" She asked.  
"You have the mutation in your X-Gene. I--"  
"Wait a second!!! Are you saying that I'm a mutant?!? I'm not....am I?" Myrna made a face. "What do I even do?"  
"You're a telekinesis, a fairly strong one I might add. But you'll need training. I propose that you stay here and learn how to control them." He looked at her expectantly.  
She just sat there for a moment, then "Could you wait here for a minute? I'll be right back." She turned and raced in the mansion, ignoring the strange looks she got.  
It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for. She walked back outside and took a deep breath. Then she held out the package. "Here. I think my cousin wanted you to have these. It was what he was working on." She explained to the puzzled professor and watched as he started almost violently and Logan to mutter a small exclamation. "It was what they wanted from me."  
"Do you know what's on these disks?" Professor Xavier said almost reverently.  
"No." She said honestly. "And I'm not sure I do. That's why I'm giving it to you. I think you'll know what to do with it, and you'll make the best use of it. I'd just keep it forever in a shoebox under my bed. Anyhow," She shrugged. "I don't like having something that people are willing to kill for."  
The professor studied her for a moment. "I think you'll be a valuable addition to the team." He said finally. "You will need a codename...do you think you could make your swords have the same psychic edge like you did that brick back in the warehouse?"  
"I gave a what to a brick?"  
The Professor smiled slightly. "I think with practice, you will. Therefore, I believe you will be called Blade."  
"Blade?" She thought about it for a moment. "I guess that's okay. It's not too bad."  
"We'll retrieve your stuff from Florida tomorrow. In the mean time, Logan, would you please show Myrna the rest of the mansion, particularly the Danger Room?"  
"Sure. C'mon." He started down the hallway. "Are ya gonna be busy this weekend?" He asked with a sideways glance.  
"Depends." Myrna said mischievously. "Why?"  
"Well, I was thinkin' that if ya weren't, there's this movie that's gonna be hittin' th'theatres an' if ya didn't have much ta do, we could check it out or sometihn'."  
Myrna grinned. "I'd like that. What time?"  
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13That evening, Myrna flopped down on her bed with the phone. "Hey mom. Can I talk to Claudia? Yes Mom, I'll fill you in too...thanks. Hey Claudia...you'll never guess what has happened to me!!" 


End file.
